Chennai Super Kings ended last. They received ₹484 crore.

A researcher at IIM Bangalore studying franchise economics in 2023 would have identified the structural reason immediately. The Indian Premier League is not built like a conventional sports league, where revenue tracks performance. It is built like a media distribution company that uses cricket as its content. The BCCI collects all central revenue broadcasting rights, title sponsorships, central brand partnerships and redistributes the majority back to franchises under a fixed plus variable formula. Performance influences the variable portion. The fixed portion comes regardless of results.

That design decision, taken in 2008 when the league was launched, is why every IPL franchise is a financially stable business by default. It is also why the central revenue pool, not ticket sales, is the answer to the question of how IPL teams make money.
The number that anchors everything else is ₹48,390 crore. On 14 June 2022, the BCCI auctioned IPL media rights for the 2023 2027 cycle to Disney Star television ₹23,575 crore and Viacom18 digital ₹23,758 crore, establishing the IPL as the second most valuable sports media property in the world per match after the NFL. The annual broadcast fee from this deal approximately ₹9,678 crore per season flows into the BCCI's central pool. The BCCI retains 50%. The remaining 50% is distributed among franchises approximately 45% equally divided and 5% based on performance metrics. In practical terms, a franchise that qualifies for the playoffs receives slightly more than one that does not. The gap between first and last in the central pool is meaningful, but not enough to destabilise a franchise.

What's more, Tata Group's title sponsorship adds ₹500 crore per season to the central pool from 2024 to 2028 a ₹2,500 crore deal that funds a guaranteed base layer for every team before the season begins.

Sponsorships are where franchises diverge from each other most sharply. The BCCI manages central sponsorships and distributes the proceeds equally. Team specific sponsorships, jersey deals, digital partnerships, stadium hoardings are negotiated by franchises independently and are not shared. Mumbai Indians had 37 brand partnerships in one IPL season, generating an estimated ₹215 crore from sponsorships. alone. That figure sits far above the league average. The correlation is straightforward: the franchise with the largest fanbase and the strongest broadcast visibility commands the highest rates from sponsors. RCB signed the biggest kit supplier deal in IPL history by annual value with PUMA for approximately ₹6 crore per year.

Ticket revenue is the most visible revenue stream to fans and the least significant to franchise accountants. Chennai Super Kings, playing at MA Chidambaram Stadium in front of a near capacity crowd for each home match, typically earns between ₹30-40 crore per season from ticketing. That number is real but it is approximately 8% of what the same franchise receives from the central pool before a single ticket is sold.

But here is what the numbers do not say.

The data point that reshapes the question is not the top line revenue. It is the margin. Public filings from franchises with listed parent companies show EBITDA margins of 37-40%, a figure that places IPL franchises among the most profitable sports properties in the world. For comparison, Premier League clubs typically operate at margins in the single digits. The IPL margin exists because the central pool provides scale revenue with relatively fixed costs attached. Player salaries are capped. Operational costs are bounded by a two month season. The result is a franchise where the core business runs at remarkable efficiency.

The practical implication for IPL 2026: every franchise enters the season already solvent. The question is not whether teams will make money. It is how much. The Tata Group title deal, the JioStar broadcasting contract, and the ₹484 crore floor per franchise mean IPL 2026 will produce another profitable year for every team in the league including whichever one finishes last in May.

The better question is not how IPL teams make money. It is why they are worth far more than their revenues suggest. RCB which declared profits of ₹140 crore on revenues of ₹550 crore in FY25 changed hands for ₹16,600 crore. The maths of a straightforward return on investment do not work at that valuation. What investors are buying is not this year's ₹484 crore. They are buying a guaranteed position inside the next media rights auction, which is expected to significantly exceed the current deal. In that sense, an IPL franchise is not just a cricket team. It is a perpetual option on Indian sport's future value.

FAQ

Q: How much money does an IPL team make per season?
A: IPL franchises received ₹484 crore from the BCCI central pool alone in 2025. Adding own sponsorships, ticket revenue, merchandise and prize money, top franchises like CSK and MI earn ₹500-650 crore per season, with EBITDA margins of 37-40%.

Q: What is the biggest source of revenue for IPL teams?
A: The BCCI central pool, funded mainly by media rights. The ₹48,390 crore deal (2023-2027) generates approximately ₹9,678 crore per season, of which 45% is distributed equally among all franchises. Even a team finishing last receives around ₹484 crore before any other revenue.

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